Latest in CNN Films

Oscar-nominated RBG directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen are to tell the extraordinary story of U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ remarkable perseverance following an assassination attempt. West and Cohen are teaming once again on Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down from CNN Films, Time Studios, Storyville Films and…

CNN Films and HBO Max are partnering for a documentary on anti-corruption Russian government opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Described as a documentary thriller and shot as the story unfolded, Navalny follows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During…

Arthur Ashe achieved greatness on the tennis court, becoming the first African-American major champion in his sport. But what he accomplished off the court was even greater—advancing civil and human rights, attacking apartheid in South Africa, and destigmatizing HIV-AIDS. His life, tennis career and activism come into…

Arthur Ashe is an icon in the tennis world, breaking barriers to become the first Black male champion of three Grand Slams: the Australian Open; the U.S. Open; and, most famously, beating Jimmy Conners in 1975 to win Wimbledon. But on the other side of the net is Ashe’s work as an activist, which becomes the focus of C…

In the early 1960s, American "cuisine" meant for convenient but fairly nasty stuff. Example: this recipe for "Crusty Tuna Surprise." Take two cans of StarKist Tuna, mix with cheese soup, "then top it crisply with Kellogg's Corn Flakes Crumbs." Yum. Then Julia Child arrived, armed with sauce pans and cast iron…

UPDATED with more details: Normally on the opening day of a Morgan Neville film, the talk would be about box office potential—after all, his 2018 Mr. Rogers documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? earned an astounding $23 million. But as Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain hits theaters today, focus has shifted to…

UPDATED with airdate: CNN said Tuesday that it will premiere the documentary Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street, on Monday, May 31 at 9 PM ET on CNN and CNN en Español. The film will encore Saturday, June 5 at 9 p.m. ET; HBO Max has streaming rights to the film and will make it available at a later…

HBO Max will premiere the CNN Films documentary On The Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries, which captures the network’s team of female journalists and embeds as they covered the nomination contest. The project will premiere on August 6. Those spotlighted include Dana Bash, Kaitlan Collins, Jessica Dean, Daniella Diaz…

CNN Films has acquired North American broadcast rights to the Mary Wharton-directed documentary Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President. The film was produced by Chris Farrell and written by Bill Flanagan. The docu was originally set to open the Tribeca Film Festival in April. It has now been set as the closing film for…

As Academy Documentary Branch voters ponder their nomination ballots, they have no fewer than three Neon features to consider on the Oscar shortlist—Honeyland, The Biggest Little Farm, and Apollo 11. The latter film, directed by Todd Douglas Miller, became the top nonfiction box office hit of 2019, making more than…

UPDATED with DOC NYC winners, 6:30 PM: CNN Films has acquired the documentary feature Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice and set its television premiere for New Year’s Day on CNN. Ronstadt was 21 when she first hit the national charts with the Stone Poneys’ “Different Drum,” and her plaintive vocal leapt off the…

Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom) will direct and produce a documentary about the late Anthony Bourdain for CNN Films, HBO Max and Focus Features. Described in the announcement as a film about the “uncommon life of the late storyteller, explorer and chef,” the documentary first will be…